INSIDE TRAVEL.

Full-service boardings fall as frugal fliers seek cheaper seats

July 06, 2001|By JOHN SCHMELTZER.

The woes of the nation's full-service airlines accelerated in June, as travelers increasingly made their transportation choice based on the price of a ticket rather than a frequent flier program or a so-called meal.

United Airlines--which long after the market closed on Tuesday said it was cutting its dividend 85 percent to 5 cents per share--on Thursday said it flew 4.1 percent fewer passengers in June than it did a year ago. The Elk Grove Township-based airline said 7,503,000 passengers boarded its flights in June, compared with 7,825,000 last year.

American Airlines, the world's largest carrier, reported a similar drop. The Ft. Worth-based airline said it carried 7,435,437 passengers in June, compared with 7,741,508 a year ago. The American figures do not include passengers traveling on Trans World Airlines, which American bought earlier this year. American and United both operate hubs at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Just the opposite is happening on discount carriers such as Southwest Airlines and American Trans Air, which have hubs at Midway Airport.

Southwest, the nation's largest low-fare carrier, reported 5,983,391 passengers boarded its planes in June, up 5.4 percent from 5,678,063 a year ago.

ATA, which is slated to release its traffic figures on Friday, is expected to report similar results. So far this year, ATA has reported the number of passengers boarding its planes is up 15 percent to 3.76 million.

Even the full service carriers, in another indication that price has become a critical factor, say that many of their most loyal business customers are searching for the lowest fare by booking well in advance of the dates when they intend to travel.

Winning wings: Want to be a pilot? United Airlines is offering that opportunity, albeit only in one of their simulators, to a person who is a registered user of United.com and purchases a ticket by July 17.

United says it will fly the winner of the contest and their guest to Denver, where the airline's pilot training facility is located. While there, they will spend two hours in one of the simulators, tour the training facility and sit in on pilot briefings and debriefings. The airline says it also has lined up a hotel and a rental car for the winner.

For more information, go to United.com and click on the "Pilot for a Day" logo in the middle of the page.

A 500 season? Boeing Co., which is moving to Chicago in September, on Thursday said it is on track to deliver more than 500 commercial jets this year. The company said it has delivered 263 jets to various airlines so far this year.

Boeing's announcement comes two weeks after Airbus Industrie, a subsidiary of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Systems Co., announced at the Paris Air Show that it had received orders for 155 commercial jets, including an order for 111 jets from International Lease Finance Corp., a Los Angeles-based leasing company.

Boeing, which argued deliveries are more important than orders, only announced an order for three jets from Japan Air Lines.

Boeing's stock, which skidded 5 percent the day of the Airbus announcement, has remained depressed since the air show. On Thursday Boeing's stock closed at $55.23, down $1.10 on the New York Stock Exchange.